Prephonological spellers do not show the syllable-length signature predicted by the hypothesized syllabic stage¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Brazilian prephonological spellers (mean age 4;8) did not produce longer spellings for two-syllable than one-syllable words. → Treiman Rebecca 2013 q2 i? U.S. prephonological spellers (mean age 4;7) likewise showed no syllable-length effect, and other Brazilian work failed to find a syllabic stage. → Treiman Rebecca 2013 (2)

Evidence¶

Treiman Rebecca 2013¶

Treiman Rebecca, Kessler Brett. (2013). Learning to Use an Alphabetic Writing System. Language Learning and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2013.812016

q2 · i? · review · r3

Quantitative study using a rearrangement procedure to identify Brazilian prephonological spellers. The null finding speaks against Ferreiro and Teberosky's claim that children pass through a stage in which each symbol represents a syllable.

"These children, who were on average 4 years and 8 months of age, did not produce longer spellings when trying to spell two-syllable words than when trying to spell one-syllable words."

Treiman Rebecca 2013 (2)¶

Treiman Rebecca, Kessler Brett. (2013). Learning to Use an Alphabetic Writing System. Language Learning and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2013.812016

q2 · i? · review · r3

Same study's U.S. sample replicated the null result; the review adds that Cardoso-Martins and colleagues also failed to find evidence for a syllabic stage in Brazilian children.

"In the same study, we also found negative results in a group of U.S. prephonological spellers with an average age of 4 years and 7 months."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Prephonological spellers produce letter strings that statistically resemble the writing of their language rather than random strings — related
• Children's early prephonological spelling statistics predict later conventional spelling success — related
• Syllable awareness is a strong and prominent predictor of Spanish reading development — related
• Phoneme awareness is a stronger predictor of reading development than rhyme awareness — related
• Preschoolers' writing and writing-related skills increase significantly between ages 3 and 5 on letter, name, and CVC word tasks — related
• Children's writing proficiency is task dependent: children use more advanced features on easier tasks and regress to basic features on harder tasks — related